Women's Campaign at Oxford University

Is there something you’re really passionate about?Wanna get active and do something about the things you care about?Then you should have a look at our WomCam projects and small working groups.

Our working groups run alongside our big Monday meetings and are for everyone who’s keen to get more involved. If you want to become part of one of the groups, you can either email Rebekka at womensofficer@ousu.org or you can contact the people responsible for each group directly. The groups haven’t started yet and will first meet in 2nd or 3rd week. So there’s still plenty of time to sign up! No previous experience is needed as long as you’re keen!

Everyday Sexism Project

The Everyday Sexism project is all about providing a forum where women can share and catalogue their experiences of sexism on a day to day basis, no matter what the size. The project has exploded over the internet – more and more people are sharing their stories; some outrageously offensive and disgusting, others so minor or normalised that prior to this project some felt like they shouldn’t even bother protesting. It’s becoming increasingly hard to talk about sexism in a society that believes it has achieved gender equality. The point of this group is to highlight the everyday sexism that’s experienced locally, right here in Oxford, but goes unnoticed. We’ll be focusing on interviewing students and gathering anecdotes, culminating in producing a “video-diary” of everything we hear. Contact alice.newton-fenner[at]bnc.ox.ac.uk for more information and to get involved.

Feminist Makeover for your college

Passionate about equality? Keen to see a change in attitudes and policies here at Oxford? Our Feminist Makeover group will be campaigning in colleges, JCRs and MCRs to make the changes we want to happen while we’re here. Whether it’s getting rid of The Sun from common room purchases, supporting student parents, or taking a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, we will be campaigning in colleges and putting in motions to common rooms. Furthermore, we want to see feminist groups and societies in every college, making it the norm for everyone to engage in and be proud of their support for the fight for equality between the genders and for all other marginalised groups. Contact Chris at christopher.pike[at]seh.ox.ac.uk for more information.

Queer women’s group

A group working for LGBTQ Women in both the OUSU Women’s Campaign and the OUSU LGBTQ Campaign. We hope to increase the visibility and representation of Queer Women, and to work closely with other groups to further the intersectional aims of WomCam. In the first term, we will be establishing communications with both WomCam and the LGBTQ Campaign, and working towards an event in the second half of term (tentatively a tea and poetry night). Contact Anna, the WomCam LGBTQ Rep, for more information or to get involved: anna.bradshaw[at]wadh.ox.ac.uk

Black women’s group

We are a group established for black and minority ethnic (BME) women within WomCam. We seek to raise awareness of the unique issues that BME women face. We aim to provide safe spaces for women and ensure that the perspective and opinions of BME women are represented in WomCam at all levels. We also plan to work with other organisations within Oxford, such as the Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality. Keep an eye out for events and information or contact Kiran, the WomCam BME Rep at rajkiran.barhey [at] hertford.ox.ac.uk for more details and about getting involved. We’d love to hear from you!

Global Women’s Group

A group working to raise awareness, campaign, and fundraise for charitable projects for women in the global south. Causes such as promoting female education and preventing child marriage and female genital mutilation are our focus; we aim to make a tangible difference in the lives of women affected by these phenomena. As the group gets going we will be working with existing charities in this area and organising fundraising events. Looking for enthusiastic people to help us make a change! For more information or to get involved, contact Hattie at harriet.bland[at]chch.ox.ac.uk

Asylum Seekers

We will work with local and national groups to help correct misconceptions about the motives of refugees and asylum seekers, and make the worrying conditions in detention centres more widely known. This is a group for people with any level of knowledge; the aim is to educate ourselves, then each other, then the wider world, about the causes of and effects on women seeking asylum in the UK and elsewhere. For more information or to get involved, contact katherine.silverberg[at]wadh.ox.ac.uk

WomCam zine

The WomCam zine is a termly publication curated, designed, written, edited, printed and distributed by Oxford feminists. Editions will usually be centred around a theme, and submissions can take any shape: from poetry to illustration, anonymous confessional writing to graphic design, everything is welcome! Just like this one, the zine has a strong DIY ethic and aesthetic and we love everyone to get stuck in to create a finish product that is collaborative, inclusive, and, most importantly of all, looks and feels nothing like Cosmo! Email lauren.oneill[at]mainsfield.ox.ac.uk for more details. Double dare ya.